The Dacke War () was a peasant uprising led by

Nils Dacke Nils Dacke (died 1543) was a Swedish yeoman who was the leader of a mid-16th century peasant revolt in the historic province of Småland in southern Sweden. The resulting Dacke War () was fought against King of Sweden, King Gustav I of Sweden ...

Småland Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name ''Småland'' literally means "small la ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, in 1542 against the rule of Gustav Vasa. Dacke and his followers were dissatisfied with the heavy tax burden, the introduction of

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, and the confiscation of Church property (the confiscation and taxes were introduced to pay for the

Swedish War of Liberation Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

that had brought Gustav Vasa to power). In 1543 the uprising was defeated, and Nils Dacke was killed.

Background

and his peasants were dissatisfied with the policies of the Swedish king Gustav Vasa. In his effort to modernize Sweden and gain more power, the king had instituted a more efficient system for

tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

collection. The heavy tax burden angered many peasants. Gustav Vasa had also broken relations with

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and promoted

instead of

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

; as part of the Swedish Reformation, properties of the church (including land) were appropriated, under the laws of the

Reduction of Gustav I of Sweden The Reduction of Gustav I of Sweden, was an important reform during the Protestant Swedish Reformation, in which king Gustav I of Sweden ordered a reduction in church property and the return of land to the crown, making the national church depend ...

. In 1541 the king's men had confiscated many of the belongings of the churches in

, such as the church silver and even the church bells, to finance the army. Dacke criticized the new church order and promoted the old faith. He was also supported by many local

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

s. The rebellion was one of many rebellions during the rule of Gustav Vasa. In contrast with other contemporary rebellions in Sweden, this one was led by peasants, and not supported by the local

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

Uprising

The uprising began in summer 1542 when the king's

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

s were attacked and killed when they came to collect taxes. Gustav Vasa responded by sending a military force led by his own father-in-law . He was defeated by Dacke's constantly growing army of peasants. Other attempts to defeat Dacke militarily also failed. Dacke and his army reached as far north as Mjölby at the fringes of the Östergötland plains () and enjoyed widespread support around

Sommen Sommen () is a lake in the South Swedish highlands lying across the border of the Provinces of Sweden, provinces of Östergötland and Småland. Situated about 147 metres above mean sea level, the lake has an area of and has a maximum depth of 60 ...

and Ydre. Local aristocrat Måns Johansson ( Natt och Dag) sided with the king despite having a troublesome relation to him. He was put in charge of an army to suppress the rebellion. Next, the Swedish government stopped all supplies of provisions and other necessities to the region. This weakened the rebellion considerably. Defaming propaganda about Dacke was also spread by the government, labeling him a traitor and a heretic. In March 1543 Gustav Vasa ordered his army of Swedish recruits and German

landsknecht The (singular: , ), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were German mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front line was ...

mercenaries to attack Småland. This time larger forces were deployed, and Dacke's forces were attacked from two directions – from

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

and

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

. The uprising was defeated, and Dacke was wounded but managed to flee.

Aftermath

The king's retribution upon the instigators of the rebellion was harsh. The leaders that were caught were executed together with the priests who had supported Dacke. Peasants who had supported the rebellion were deported to

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, where they had to serve in the army, and the counties where the rebellion had taken place had to pay a large fine to the king. Dacke himself was caught and killed in August 1543 when trying to escape the country. According to legend, his body was taken to Kalmar, where his head was publicly displayed wearing a crown of copper, as a warning to others. Unrest in Ydre continued well after the death of Dacke and ended only after Gustav Vasa sent a force of 400 men to pacify the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

. The rebellion was the most serious threat to the rule of Gustav Vasa, but after having defeated it he managed to consolidate his power, concentrating more and more power in the hands of the monarch.

Idiom

In the Swedish language, the

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that largely or exclusively carries a Literal and figurative language, figurative or non-literal meaning (linguistic), meaning, rather than making any literal sense. Categorized as formulaic speech, formulaic ...

"not since the Dacke War" is used to mean "not for a long time". This expression is especially common in the southern parts of Sweden but is also used elsewhere.

References

Dacke War

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

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OpenLibrary
{{Catholic Church in Sweden Conflicts in 1542 Rebellions in Sweden Popular revolt in late-medieval Europe Wars involving Sweden 1542 in Sweden 1542 in Europe Peasant revolts Feuds 16th-century rebellions Swedish Reformation Catholic rebellions Gustav Vasa

Background

Uprising

Aftermath

Idiom

See also

References